Youkai Lullaby
by Kitty Katana
Summary: [One Shot] Only one child could sleep easily in the remains of a bloody battle. Rin has someone to watch over her...


A hundred bodies were strewn out across the expanse of field, frosted by blood. Pieces of flesh littered the ground without an inch between. The scene didn't bother the youkai lord, the men's blood still drying on his long claws. He looked up at the evening sky. Clouds, gray and dull, obscured the crimson sunset. Apathetic eyes looked without seeing anything at all, but delicate ears caught the shuffling behind them that was Jaken. He sighed without any connotation, an exhale at just the right moment for effect; knowing the gushing of praise the insignificant toad would give.

"Oh, Sesshoumaru-sama, these warriors were helpless against milord. How impressive that milord could so easily fell a-"

Sesshoumaru gave him a glance that petrified the toad. Looking around at the scene with disinterest, he noted the absence of one of his entourage. Rin was missing. He listened for a moment, finally hearing the giggling of the girl nearby.

She bound out of the bushes, her hand shut tight in a fist that she was waving around above her head. "Sesshoumaru-sama! Rin caught a flower!" She giggled in delight. She bound up to him, tugging on one sleeve of his long kimono. Extending a chubby young hand, she showed him her 'flower'. As it turned out, the flower was a small yellow butterfly that took the opportunity to escape its prison of fingers.

"That's no flower, it's a butterfly." Jaken swiftly corrected, but Rin didn't seem to be listening, she was chasing the ascending insect again.

Two sharp claws caught the butterfly by the wings, examining it carefully. Sesshoumaru looked at the frightened bug before simply dropping it into Rin's hands. Still grinning brightly with amusement, she freed and caught her flower a few more times before releasing it accidentally.

Rin yawned, stretching an arm out above her head. "Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin is sleepy." She said innocently. He could understand, the little girl had no fraction of his endurance, but she slept far too much for his liking anyway. In the end, he decided on a haughty nod, just the vouchsafe to allow him some denial of his affection for the little one.

She stumbled over to a tree trunk and crawled under a small patch of exposed roots. Sesshoumaru found that this was helpful in protecting her and keeping her out of trouble… not that he cared if she got herself killed… she was just a tag-along anyway.

Huge brown eyes looked at him from out of the shadow of the tree. "Sesshoumaru-sama… tell Rin a story?" she requested meekly. With another exhaled sigh, he sat casually on a large root.

"Once there was a mighty youkai lord who ruled the west lands. One day his filthy half-breed brother came and took the sword that rightfully belonged to the mighty lord. Eventually, the lord found him and decapitated him and every one was happy… except for the half-breed's wench. The end." All this was told in complete monotone. Rin smiled brightly, not seeming to notice the somewhat gruesome tone of the story or the blood coating her favorite storyteller's hands from the previous slaughter.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" She interrupted again. He looked back. "Rin is thirsty." She said quietly. Looking ever so vaguely annoyed, he nodded again, ripping a canteen from a dead body in his path. He handed her the canteen and let her drink. She proceeded to burp in the squeak that a child does, then look up once more with the eyes that he hated so much.

"Sesshoumaru-sama? Rin is cold." This time she didn't wait for him to move, but walked forward and curled up in the mysterious white fluffiness of his boa. The youkai looked down with some intimation of surprise at the abruptness she had shown. Still, he didn't disturb her, didn't make a move to get her off. Jaken sulked close by on being stuck in the field until morning, what with how _busy_ they were.

Slowly, the sun vanished from view, plunging the world into darkness. Blood dried in metallic crimson in the dying light. In the concealing dark, Rin looked back up into the calm, stony face above her- watching over her with frozen golden eyes-

and then fell asleep.


End file.
